Deck



May 8, 1945. E. M. IWICHERT mscx Filed Feb. 26, 1943 s Sheets-Sheet 1May 8, 1945. M. WIICHEYRT DECK Filed Fgb. 26, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2ERNEST 1W. W/CHERT- v m m m v NW R 7 MN nu fllwirlllk MN ii. 8 MN WI 9 AQN h K h y, Y \Q w.

May 8, 1945. E. M. WICHERT DECK Filed Feb; 26, 1943 s Sheets-Sheet :s

mvEn'ro ERNEST M. W/CHERT Patented May 8, 1945 mediates.

The zirp'o'se ti fthis' inten ed {is-the; demon or a serene;containers-4 deck inadel 'ofi lightypom able panelsm providepaved aiea's fofai rplane runways, vehidnar tralfli'c', storage, handling ofmatferi'a Is ,ete. v Advantagesofthemvenam a'i'" v 1) Severalreater-strength 'of deck than with prevailing type, and with greaterecon: and simplicity or fabric ting; assemblin and'dismantllng. v 1 (2)Continuityih andir'ectiohswithout resorting to welding; overlapping,riveting; or the like. (3) Vital material and labor are' conserved; (4:)Shipping weight and space are" conserved. (5) The portable panels arelight in weight ior the areaficovered, yetiare of unprededentediy greatstrength. i a

othebdet'ails, objects and advantages of the invention will become-"-apparent: as: the following description of certain present; preferredembodi mentsthereoi'proc'eedst r a In' the ad'companying drawings Ihave: shown certain present preferred embodiments "of theinventio'mini-whichf V Fimne iris affragmentary pl'amviewv'of. por= forforcing the elements? shown in{ Figures 8: and 9 intocooperativepd'sititin w-eonneeapanels of the-deck;'-and w f tFigur'efill is a vertical"cross sectional viewadiiferentzformyof'connecting device:

' Figure; 1 shows piortions-of four fabricated pan v (as-1: 1am on the;ground adjacent to each other.

through a modified formof structure 'ern'plbyin'g In this('recomliiendedw case-each; aner igmade of a N'o'; 12 gaugefsheet-orsteel z'fti wide-1 8 h. long. When; fabricated one panel measure11.in;x."'7"ft: l t'iii. and-weighs 67 om-me panel's may alsobe'madeoutof other mate-rials. Thesea'pan'els are IaidT'OnthegrQUhd with 1 in.space: between: adjacent panels; 1 The panels are now ready to bfmadeinto a c'ontinuousdeck bynflxedly connecting! them with the" connectingdevioesasshownin Figures 4 tot; inclusive, and BrtonlLihclusive. Thepanek'are symmetri'cai about fboth. lon'gitudinar an'd tran'sverse axesso that either end. of. one panet may bee-connected with'either'r'endotanothenpane'l. and either side of onez'pan'e'l may he'connctdrwitheither side tions. of four adjacent panels of apontable deck I as laidin spaced apart. reiationrprior to; being connected together;:'

- Figure 2 is a: vertical.- cross-sectional. vievv taken omthe lineHI-I"o Figure '1-;' v

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view: to enlarged scaleof aportion of one" ofqthe deck panels showrr in Figure;- 1 Ita clarifystructural detai'lsthereofll. t 1' r Figuredis a fragmentary plan viewofua portion ofthe structure shownin Figure I "butto enlarged scale withanonnecting device for con neeting together-adjacent panels of'the, deckown in p1ace,;the wedgezofrzthevconnecting'devicebeingomitted forclarity; a,

Figure 5 is-v a ,vertigalcross-sectionalaview'taken on the line V-V oiFigure t; g A a t Figure; 6 is;a vertical cross-sectionalview taken in Fgures 4 and; being showninplace;

sive, ;prior tq the final die-forrriingstep; I

Figure 8 is a perspective view of one element i l fii-m I e Figuige Q isa perspective view of anotherneleii o u de nectin r evic i' r of.another paneli thiis makingthe laying toolproof.:. F'I'heycorfifefitihgdevijes a-re' now laid over opposed. connecting points, engaging theiour tathe 1 in; wide space fonnedj between the adjacent paneiszgAsothis: head isi only in. wide, it

canbeasily. enter the: 1; ina'sspaoe' betwe'en panels the onneeting;device shown" in. Figures- 4 5 until the; head-is below theflanges 5bfthe two adjacent: panels; The :lockingportiondsthen turned 90 andeintheforin of; connecting device i showminoiEigllres'n 8,19 and: 10;theikey Bvis in:- serted and driven tight with am' ordinary ham-'- mer;If it is: desired" to iremovehand replace any one'panel ,irom the.assembled runway or deck, the operationjabove described isireversed' andthe panelris simply lifted outzzfrom between adjacentpanelsand:another-paneimserted. t

. Figurefl showsa portion fY'axmetal'lic sheet 290'; i wideand iv- 0"?long with'slits l and a cut or punched in thesheet anda V -9,.cut. out.of

each corner. This drawing shows; thezcondition of the sheet after, thefirst operation l I a The sheet isthen placedibetween two sets 'of Idies in. apress iniWhiCh flanges 5. are: formed along all four. edgesand flanges ID. in stag gered arrangement 1 are simultaneously formedthroughout the sheet. location of these flanges i hown in dottedlinesinFigurey'l. and

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a 'wed geused in ull lilieain FigureI. Thetormine oi alithese 1 ft. I

II, and since the edge flanges of adjacent panels are spaced 1 inchapart they form a groove? produces oblong holes 2,375,454 I ,j; V v

relatively shallow depth at the outside ofthe This is for slot 2| to ,arelatively great depth at the outside of the slot 22. The slots 2| and22 are of 'approximately the same width as the slot l8. 'Connected withthe base IQ of the spider are'upper clamping jaws 23 adapted tocooperate with the v jaws l5aswil1 presently appear. Frame members 24also connected with the base l9 carry cross members 25 each having ateach end upon its .under surface afldownwardly projecting tapered pin orstud,26.[ j 1 The pieces ofthe connecting device shown in Figures 8 and9 and which have just been de- "scribed are preferably loosely butpermanently interrupted every 8 inches by a con necting de vice, thusforming rows of oblong holes All these holes or slots provideanefficient non-skid connected togetherfin the shop. Before the caplTLis appliedto the post I6 the post is passed upwardly through theopening 20. Then the cap i t! isapplied', which may be done either byswagdeck. They further allow vegetation. .to grow 1 through the deckwhen desired for military camouflage; also these holesfacilitatehandling, placing an dismantling Qfpanels;-.--: 5;

Referring to Figure 7, it will beynotedithat there are pairsof slotsnearp-the edges of the panelfand at-right angles to the edges.p-.The'metal between the slots-of each of such pairs of slots ispressed intoaJstrapJZ: about l binches wide. and shaped-asj-, shown--;in plan inFigure 4 and in; cross, section in Figure 5. These: -straps are; formedsimultaneouslyvwithgthe forming 'of the iianges and of the taperedround; holes .3 i at opposite sides 'of the'straps. v.Thusitiiwillibefapparent that the manufacture; of the "panels:. re,- quiresonly two, operations; xfirst, punchingo'f slots, sub-punching of smallroundholes t'for re= ceivingnconnecting units and rVs at corners; all asshown in Figure 7; second, p'ressing into shape flanges; connectorstraps and taperedroun'd holes for connecting :devices; all'as shownginFigures 1, 2 and 3. The, moment of Iiner'tia'of each panelat allsections perpendicular to the'plane of the panel and of a length-intheplane of 'th 'erpanel equal, toithe smallest dimension; of the panel inits plane-is substantially thesaine; i Figures 8;"9 and 10;.fon theonehand, ga-rldFigure fll', on the other hand; show: two vdii ferent typesof connect ing devices as above described. EitherItypeen-jgages andfixedly =connectstwo"adJacent' p'aneIs at'interv'als of ;about"8 inches.

' Each icbnnecfting device together with'th'e strapswformed in "the ingor f orging the upper end of the post to form the .cap analogoustoriveting or by welding or otherwiseattaching a separate piece to theupper end of, the posts-In any event:the-twoparts of the connectingdevice are preferablyapermanently v connected together before leavingthe shop; so

that theyv can neverbecome separatedr, ;Howe,ver, the verticaldistanceibetween the ,top,of;-the;base

land the under surface of thecap lfl-of the bottom; is considerablygreater than the ;vertical dimension of the base l9 of the spider sothat the two members of the connecting device may move freely relativelyto one another;

' When the connectingcdeviceisingplace the s jaws I5 underliethe seats if2,1 of adjacent."sections and the jaws 23 overlie such seats as clearlyshown in Figure 5. However; the dimension of the base'4 at right anglesto the dimensionbe v tween the jaws I5 is less than the width of thespace between sections; Consequently when ithe connecting deviceis-yapplied the spider issrset down with the pins 26 in the vholes -3ofthetwb opposed pairs of such holesin' adjacent. sections as shown inFigures 4; 5; andi6;i'and-theibase 4 is initially oriented withitslongitudinal dimension, i@ e.; its dimension" between thejawsi -l'5}parallel to theslot or opening between sections,

'After the base '4 has passed dow'nwardly between adjacent: panels-near"the :edges :t'he reof' forms a structure 1 Shaving -?resistingFmomen'ts slightly 3 greater-than the: .panel;'' thus"assuring-that themoment of inertiatof tl'ie deck'at all'se'ctionsper pendicularfto"theplane of the de'c'k and of 'a.

length'inthe plane'ofithedeck equaltothesmall est dimension'of thedeckiniits'plane' issubstani tiallyi the'sameu z l w V The formfofconn'ectin'g' device shown" in Fig' i .ures 4,5, 6, 8;9, and lofisiin'three pieces shown, respectively, in Figures '8, 9 and lo'f 'lhe' pieceshown'in Figure; 9 I term the bottom andco'nsists I of a lowerheadorhbasel"adaptedtdbe-posi tersec'tingthe' epening' 2n" and taperedfrom v andg22 in its upper; surface,;'

- the under side io'f' the cap I7 I V bottoms 'of the sl0ts2l'and 2'2toforce-thespider the connecting device adjacent sections'it is turnedabout the axis of the post I6 through an angle-6t '90 'until-the jaws L5underlie the 'opposed seats :21. There upon the key or wedge. 6' (Figure10) is driven through-theislots l8, 2| and 22 bearing against and 1against the relatively downwardly and the bottom relatively upwardly andthus draw'the re spectivefpairsof jaws-315 and '23 together to'tightlyclamp "ad 7 jacent sections. At the'same -time- I the tap'e'red pins 26aredrawn-down 'tightlyfiritofthe holes'fi,

thus forming firrri connection's between eachfsec tion and theconnecting devicej -which"conne tionsf are spaced substantially apart'in direc-. tion at an angle to the planeof thesection'.

The co ne ting device shown mi 'Figuij u I Y functionssimilarly to thatshown' 'in Figures 4, 5i 6, 8, 9 and 10 except that the'post I B' inFigure 11 instead'of being cappedis threaded as" shown device isto beapplied the -nut 2'9 is backedf'ofi on the post I6 so. that the bottommemberiof i r is loose 'r latively t 'f the spider' and after theparts"have -beefi'posit ned relatively to the sections to be connected getheras above-described the" nut 29 W1}. up to force the clamping jawstogether, its func tion' being-in all respect'sidentical'to thefunctionv amassdr 'me-w c'ge c mim first descri'be'd form; j, s eachcase-inclined plane" means is employed for able iron, 'or';cast "orpressed steel. Each unit, if

A: great advantage of the invention'is that'g as a row having its majoraxis oriented substan' tially at'right angles to the major axis ofeachthe deck is several times as strong as 'conv'en-' tional decks, the"chances of having to replace damaged panelsare several" times less, andin the event of a damaged'panel having to be replacedit can be done veryspeedily asthere is no chance that the connectors cann'otbe readilydisengaged, there" being. comparatively fewconnections and each actingindependently, not'in seriesof several dozen, as is the case in someconventional decks where all'the connecting lugs must first bestraightened anda'lignedfibefore any damaged panel can be removed.

An important advantage is that not only is my improved panelseveral'times as strong as a conventional panel but at the same time oneof my improved panels, although requiring only '72 pounds of steel forits manufacture, covers 16 square feet of deck area, while aconventional panel, which requires 92 pounds of steel for itsmanufacture, covers only 12.5 square feet of deck area. Thus there arerequired to be handled 28% less number of panels of my improved deck toassemble or dismantle a given area of decking: This feature seems veryimportant in case hurried dismantling of deckings or repair thereofbecomes necessary.

While I have shown and described certain present preferred embodimentsof the invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention isnot limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodiedwithin thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A deck panel comprising a sheet having at its peripheral edgesflanges extending at an acute angle to the plane of the panel, saidflanges having portions deformed to extend at a smaller acute angle to'the plane of the panel to provide depressions for receiving connectingmeans to connect the panel with adjacent panels.

2. A deck panel comprising a sheet having at its peripheral edgesflanges extending at an acute angle to the plane of the paneL'saidflanges having portions depressed so as to extend at a smaller acuteangle to the plane of the panel and partially severed from adjacentportions to form seats for connectors for connecting the panel withadjacent panels. I

3. A deck panel having therein elongated openin'gs each completelysurrounded by a flange, the

openings being arranged in a pattern so as ,to form sets of generallyparallel rows of openings, the rows of each set extending generally atright angles to those of the other set, each opening in parallel to thefirst mentioned row; pellings in;

adjacent generally parallel rows ofeach' and which openings have'theirinaj'or' axes extending" transversely of th'e extent of'saiid'rowsover; lapping'in'thedirection of extent of said rows.

4;"Afgene'ral'ly rectangular-deck anel hav n fleng'e means at-at least"certain of its pe i' l edges; "the panel having therein elongatedopenings-"eachcompletelysurrounded by a. nangetne lO' pengs beingar'rangedinfa patternso as'to fon'ns'etsfofgenerally parallel rows ofopenings; the -rowsof'each set extending generally at right anglesto'those of the othenset, each opening in adjacent opening in the's'amejrowand substan tiall'yfat right angles to the maj'or axis ofthe' nearestopening in each adjacent row generally parallel to the first mentionedrow, openings in adjacent generally parallel rows of each set and whichopenings have their major axes extendingtransverselyof the extento'fsaid rows-overlappingin" thedi-rectionof extent of said rows.

5; A deck panel having'a peripheral flange thereab-o'ut, the panelhavingtherein elongated openings each completely surrounded by a flange,the openings being arranged in a pattern so as to formsets of generallyparallel rows "of ope'nir'igs; the rows of each set extending generallyat right angles to" those of the other" set; each opehi'ng in a rowhaving its major axis oriented substan-- transversely of the extent ofsaid rows overlapa row having its major axis oriented substan-u tiallyat right angles to the major axis of each adjacent opening in the samerow and substantially at right angles, to the major axis of the nearestopening in each adjacent row generally ping in the direction of extentof said rows.

6. A generally rectangular ,deck panel having therein elongated openingseach completely surrounded by a flange, the openings being arranged in apattern so as to form sets of generally par allel rows of openingsextending generally parallel to' the edges of the panel, the rows ofeach set extending generally at right angles to those of the other set;each opening in a row having its major axis oriented substantially atright angles to the major axis of each adjacent opening in the same rowand substantially at right angles to the major axis of the nearestopening in each adjacent row generally parallel to the firstmentionedrow, openings in adjacent generally parallel rows of each setand which openings have their majoraxes extending transversely of'theextent of said rows overlapping in the direction of extent of said rows.

7. A deck panel having therein elongated open ings each completelysurrounded by a flange, the Openings being arranged in a pattern so asto form sets of generally parallel rows of openings, the rows of eachset extending generally at right angles to those of the other set, eachopening in a row having its major axis oriented substantial ly at rightangles to the major axis of each adjasurrounding the openings beingrelatively deep 1y. shallow at the ends thereof.

along the-longitudinal edges thereoi and relative;

8. A deck panel having therein elongated open ings each completelysurrounded by a flange, the openings being arranged in a pattern, so asto formsets of generally parallel rowsof openings, therows of each setextending generally atrright angles to those of the other set, eachopeningin v a rowihaving its major axis oriented substantial 137; atright angles to the major axis of; each aid-v,

jacentopening. in the same row and substantially at ri ght' angles tothe major axisof the nearest opening in each adjacent row generallyparallel to the first mentioned row, openings in adjacent generallyparallel rows of each set and which openings have their major axesextending trarisversely of the extent of said rows overlapping in thedirectionof extentvof said rows, the flanges being'li'nclined to thegeneral plane of the panel .at an angle of about 60 whereby the panelisrendered nestable with identical panels.

9. A deck" panel having, a peripheral flange and having; thereinelongated openings each completely surrounded by a flange, the openingsbeing arranged in a pattern so as to form sets of generally parallelrows of openings, the rows of each set extending generally at rightangles to those of the other set, each opening in a row having its majoraxis oriented substantially at rightv angles to the major axis of eachadjacent openable with identical panels.

ing in the same row;and substantially,at rightv angles to the major axisoi the nearest opening in each adjacent row generally parallelf tolthefirst mentioned row, openings in adjacent gen erally parallel rows ofeach set and which open ings have their major axes extendingtransversely of the extent of said rows overlappingin the direction ofextent of said rows, the flanges being inclined to the general plane ofthe'panel at an angle such that the panel is rendered nest-.

10. A composite deck comprising panels laid generally coplanar relationand fastened together,

the deck having .thereinelong'ated Openings each j completely surroundedby a flange, theopenings" being arranged in a pattern soias to form sets.of. generally parallel rows of openings, the rows of each set extendinggenerally at right angles to those of the other set; eachv opening ingrow. having its major" axis oriented substantially at.

